A Hole to be Filled
by EdeatheDemonFox
Summary: "I have to wonder that sometimes, too. It seemed obvious how close you and Kayo were becoming, how smitten the two of you seemed with one another. And yet I just couldn't take my eyes off you." Light Kenya/Satoru.


He had always thought that he'd end up with Kayo. As his kid self, he was pretty damn sure he had fallen for her along the way. Maybe due to the unpredictable nature of adolescence? Satoru honestly had no freaking clue. So to find out that Kayo and Hiromi had ended up together in the future, with a child no less was a bit…surprising to say the least.

Not that he wasn't happy for them, two of his best friends, because he was. Extremely so. It was just…now that he was in the timeline where everything had gone according to plan – complete with a few surprises here and there – and he was out of the hospital, he felt lonely. Sure, he had his still flourishing career as a manga artist that he was extremely passionate about, whereas in the timeline before he had only been doing it because it was something he was good at, and he still had his friends – an incredible, understanding, amazing bunch he would never be able to survive without – but…

Something still didn't feel right. There was still a hole inside of him that was begging – quietly at first and only increasing in volume ever since – to be filled.

As he was leaving the studio in order to meet up with the gang in Hokkaido, speaking of said devils, the thought popped into his head yet again. As the snow began to fall, he found himself looking up at it transfixed, and was once more reminded of Kayo. That night in the park with the snow falling all around her.

And it wasn't until he and Kenya were walking home by themselves after meeting up with everybody else, that Satoru had an inkling of another thought. That, maybe, maybe…but no. There was no way. Right?

It was just because Kenya had been there for him, had been the one his younger self had trusted the most in, which hadn't changed over the years, even the ones he'd been fast asleep and barely clinging to life. Kenya had been his superhero sidekick. Had been the one that, still to this day, Satoru had to wonder if his best friend somehow did know all that had really gone on, about Revival and saving Kayo from a killer that Satoru _knew_ existed, not _thought e_ xisted. Even when he'd first woken up, back in the hospital, Kenya had been the one he'd been the most excited to see. Aside from Kayo, naturally, seeing as she was the one he had originally come back in time to save.

No. There was just no way.

"Awfully quiet tonight, eh, Satoru?"

Standing in front of Mikoto Elementary, Satoru was jarred from his thoughts. He looked over to the blond currently taking up every inch of space within his mind and gave a nervous laugh, hoping that Kenya wouldn't notice the tension piling up in his muscles.

"Yeah…it just seems like it hasn't really been all that long, you know? Since we went to school here and became friends with Kayo and Aya…and in a way, even Misato."

"Well, maybe it wasn't all that long for you, sleepyhead," the blond said with a smile. "But I get what you mean. In a way, it really does kind of feel like just yesterday."

But then, Kenya had always been too smart for his own good. Even smarter than Satoru gave him credit for.

"But I know that's not what's really on your mind, is it?"

Again, Satoru was jarred from his thoughts; again by said blond standing directly in front of him. A smile and he relented, saying some of what was on his mind and naively hoping that the smart man he was lucky enough to still call his best friend wouldn't notice that some of his thoughts were purposely being left out of their conversation.

"It's just…Kayo and Hiromi. In a way, it's obvious. I mean, we were all friends but the two of them I was focusing so hard on protecting from the same person I knew wanted to hurt them both."

Was that delving too deep? Giving away too much about Revival? Satoru sure hoped not.

"But I'm also still trying to wrap my head around it. I always thought that…"

The dark-haired man chuckled and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"You'd end up with Kayo?" Kenya finished for him with a small smile. "Yeah, we all did, too."

They resumed their walking, the snow still lightly falling and creating an almost angelic picture, Satoru's thoughts scattered in his mind, blanketing his consciousness like the snow was currently blanketing the Earth.

"I have to wonder," Satoru continued quietly, "if I had woken up sooner…or, if I hadn't gone into a coma at all, _would_ Kayo and I have ended up together?"

"It seems kinda likely. But you, of all people shouldn't go through life commenting on the what-if's. Here and now, things are the way they are. And it's got to be for a reason, right?" Kenya commented, still wearing that friendly smile.

Satoru's eyes moved to his friend's lips. Friendly? Or was there a hint of something more? He quickly looked away, hoping Kenya hadn't noticed. But of course Kenya would notice. He wouldn't be Kenya if he wasn't so damn observant.

"I also have to wonder…if that's why I ended up in a coma for as long as I did. So that Kayo and Hiromi could end up together like they were meant to. Maybe Kayo was never meant for me in that way. Maybe…" Satoru took a deep, steeling breath. "Maybe someone else was. Maybe they…"

"Were meant for you all along?" Kenya finished yet again, voice having gotten just as quiet as Satoru's. Nearly as silent as the falling snow all around them.

"Yeah," Satoru breathed. "I mean, they were there for me in a way that no one else could have possibly been. They were my partner in crime…the one who became a superhero so that I didn't have to be one all alone. The one who encouraged me to come to them regardless of circumstances. The one who, I still to this day, believed understood the circumstances far more than I gave them credit for."

Both pairs of eyes met, breath coming out in white, almost magical – ethereal – puffs of air. And Kenya cracked yet another smile.

"You're not very subtle, Satoru," he said with a laugh.

Satoru immediately calmed at the lighthearted atmosphere the conversation had taken, at his best friend's smile, and he released a chuckle alongside the blond.

"I know I'm not," he admitted with a smile of his own.

Their walking continued, streetlights flickering to life along the way as darkness began to envelop the area, taking away the day and reviving the world of night in its place.

"I have to wonder that sometimes, too. It seemed obvious how close you and Kayo were becoming, how smitten the two of you seemed with one another. And yet I just couldn't take my eyes off you."

Satoru's breath hitched in his throat, in his chest even, at the simple confession.

"And then you became comatose and still managed to take up nearly every waking thought. Kayo and Hiromi announced their engagement years later and…then you woke up, finally, and my thoughts should have calmed. But they didn't."

It was simple, it was understated, and as far as confessions went, it was purely them. There was no undying declaration of love, no slowly leaning in for a cliché kiss, no fireworks…just the two of them, their honest words and smiles toward one another, and the snow falling on their coat-clad shoulders. And already, the strange hole in Satoru's heart was being filled.

WOW. It seems like it's been ages since my last fanfic! XD I just finished Boku Machi (as my best friend and I have taken to calling it) with said best friend and the ending was freaking amazing! I did not, however, expect Kayo and Hiromi to end up together. I think that might be one reason why it ended up that way (because people wouldn't expect it), along with the fact that Satoru was asleep all that time, otherwise maybe he and Kayo would have ended up together.

But I can really see him and Kenya together, too, and in a way, for me at least, I think my brain took Kayo ending up with Hiromi as the green light for Kenya and Satoru to give things a try! XD No, but seriously, all the things I had them say to each other, I already feel is true, so…yeah. I really have no idea what I'm trying to say here. I feel there was a point and then….it got lost along the way!

Also, I know that the get-together in Hokkaido is several years after Satoru wakes up, but it just feels like half a year, if that, after he wakes up and I just pictured that part where he and Kenya are walking home together after dinner and it just fit. At least to me!

I'm sorry if the ending was rushedddd. It's been awhile since my last fanfic, for real! This was just meant to be simple, short, sweet and to the point and I don't feel it's in either Satoru's or Kenya's characters to be over the top. They're just simple and subtle. Like this one shot. Maybe I'll make this a two shot and write a fluffier/steamier fic to go along with this one, butttttt. It all depends on if you guys think it would fit or if you think this is fine the way it is!

Anyway, sorry for my rambling. I hope you enjoyed! As usual, comments and critique would be much appreciated!~

EdeatheDemonFox


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